Hey NMA-ers!  It's Christine, back with another healthy dessert recipe!  For this Sweet-Tooth Friday I made a batch of vegan black bean brownies.  I'm going to cut to the chase- for me this recipe is hands-down the best STF yet!  They're even better than regular brownies!  If you haven't tried any of my recipes yet, drop what you're doing and get baking!

I started this week working on an entirely different recipe.  I wanted to make adzuki bean cinnamon buns.  Unfortunately, the less glamorous side of trial-and-error baking reared its head and all I was left with was a big pile of ERROR!  It's a shame because it was pretty time-consuming to prepare with the soaking of the beans.  The pictures turned out great, but of course I couldn't share a dud with you guys!  I have a reputation to keep up!

So there I was on Sweet-Tooth Friday eve with a trashcan full of 'cinnamonsters' and no goodies to share.  I needed something yummy and quick!  I had heard before about people using black beans in place of eggs and butter with pre-made brownie mixes- could it really work?  I did a few internet searches and saw enough reassuring results that I was willing to give it a try.

I peeled off to the grocery store and grabbed a can of black beans.  In the baking aisle I discreetly examined the brownie mixes and their ingredient lists.  I probably looked shady, but I have a reputation to keep up, remember?!  Somebody catching me with a brownie mix would be like spotting Mr. Atkins chowing down on a French baguette.  In the end, I didn't like any of the brownie mixes because they either contained animal products already or were loaded with sugar and white flour.

I decided to put together my own brownie mix.  Besides, making homemade mixes is a lot cheaper.  When the mix is layered nicely in a jar you can just add a bow and instantly turn it into sweet and thoughtful gift.  However, you need a bigger jar than the one I used in the picture- it didn't actually all fit in there so look for something bigger than 32 oz.

I adapted this recipe from a King Arthur Flour recipe.  I made a few changes like using whole wheat flour, raw sugar, and more coffee.  Instead of adding chocolate chips (which add more sugar) I decided to use hazelnuts instead.  The hazelnuts add a seriously fabulous "nutella"-like flair.

In my research on black bean brownies, I came across a nice tip on foodfit.com.  Someone mentioned there that it was a good idea to wash the salty can liquid off the beans, then return the beans to the can and fill with fresh clean water.  This is what I did with great success.  However, I'm not sure if this would be different with a pre-packaged mix, but when I mixed the pureed beans and water with the dry ingredients, there was not nearly enough liquid to make a batter.  I ended up adding another cup of water to get it to the right consistency.

Without further ado, I give you my Hazelnut Mocha Brownies:

Vegan Black Bean Brownie Recipe

For the Mix:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 1/4 cups raw sugar
1 1/4 cup cocoa
4 tsp instant coffee powder
1 1/2 cups chopped hazelnuts

You also need:
1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and filled with new water
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup of water (eyeball it by filling up half the empty can)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together the flour with the salt and baking powder.  For a nice layered presentation in a jar start with half the sugar,  then add half the flour mixture, all the cocoa, the coffee powder, the remaining flour, the remaining sugar, and the nuts on top.  When ready to bake, dump out the jar into a mixing bowl and stir to combine all the dry ingredients.

Drain a can of black beans and rinse thoroughly until the water runs clear.  Return the black beans back to the can and fill with water.  Puree the beans and water.  Add the puree to the dry mix along with the vanilla and extra cup of water.  Stir to combine.

Pour the batter into a greased 9×13 pan.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, rotating the pan around halfway through.  When the brownies are finished they should be firm in the center and the edges will be slightly puffy and starting to pull away from the sides.  My batch was finished at 28 minutes.  It's important not to overbake in the oven because they will keep baking once you take them out.

Let brownies cool completely then use a 2×2 in cookie cutter to cut into 24 squares.

I don't think I can accurately express over the internet how freakin awesome these brownies are!  I said it before and I'll say it again:  these are better than ANY brownie I've had, including the ones laden with tons of butter and eggs.  It's time to put your bean prejudices aside and give this recipe a try!

Happy Sweet-Tooth Friday!
xoxo, Christine

P.S.- Check out the rest of my sneakily-healthy desserts, including vegan pumpkin bread and vegan gingerbread cookies with Guinness!

Black Bean Brownie

Related posts:

1. Sweet-Tooth Friday: Vegan White Bean Blondies
2. Black Bean and Sweet Potato Enchiladas
3. Black bean and walnut croquettes
4. Vegan Pink Bean Muffins
5. Mexican Black Bean Burgers with Tomatillo and Avocado Salsa